Rail-joint.



No. 757,984. PATENTED APR. 19, 1904. M. WARNER. RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED ran. 14, 1903. no MODEL.

OHNE XI nv VE/VTOI? 'Mariz'n Warn er UNITED STATES Patented April 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,984, dated April 19, 1904.

Application filed February 14:, 1903. Serial No. 143,390. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARTIN IVARNER, residing at Summit Mines, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Rail-Joint, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of rail-joints adapted to be connected with the meeting ends of rails without the use of nutted bolts, and it seeks to provide a simple, inexpensive, easily-applied, and effectively-operating joint having a peculiar construction especially designed to cooperate with a special form of lock-pin, whereby the joint members can be conveniently and quickly applied and firmly held in their locking engagement with the rails; and the said invention comprehends certain combinations and peculiar arrangement of parts, all of which will hereinafter be fully described, and specifically pointed out in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention, the joint being shown applied to the rail. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of a portion thereof, taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a detail cross-section of a modified form of my invention. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of a modified form of the joint-plate. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the loclcpins especially designed for cooperating with the peculiarly-constructed splice-plates.

In carrying out my invention my improved joint comprises two opposing plates, (designated A and B,) one of which, B, I term the joint or clamping plate, and thepther, A, the ifollowerf or looking plate, and both of the said plates may have the general shape of the ordinary fish-plate, as shown in Fig. 4. In the practical application of my invention, however, I prefer to construct my improved joint as a continuous rail-joint and with a bottom extension adapted to project under the rail, as shown in Fig. 5, as both are standard.

The essential feature of my invention lies in the cooperative construction of the followerplate A and the locking-pins D, combined with the clamping plate or joint B.

The clamping plate or joint B in the preferred form consists of a body 6, having a continuous groove I) on the rail-engagingface, arranged in line with the holes a and a in the rails A A and has apertures 12 V, which conform to and are arranged to register with the rail-holes a a when the several parts are assembled, and the said body B, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5, has an integral extension I), adapted to extend under the rails the full width thereof.

The follower-plate A, which forms the lock ing member, consists of a body portion 1, which is also provided with a continuous groove 1 on its inner or rail-engaging face in alinement with the rail-apertures when the parts are in an operative position.

The plate A is also provided with a series of horizontally-disposed keyhole-slots a in the inner side thereof, and the outer 'face of the said plate has a series of slip taper or wedge portions a a one for each keyholeslot, the purpose of which will presently appear.

D designates the lock pins or bolts, one for each key-aperture in the clamp-plates and the rails, the peculiar construction of which is best shown in Figs. 2 and 6, by reference to which it will be noticed each bolt comprises a head (1 of a diameter which will permit of slipping the follower-plate A thereover. Adjacent the head 61 each bolt D has a flat shank cl to engage the narrow or restricted part of the keyhole-slot, a central portion 0Z which merges with the flattened end d, which is elongated in cross-section and tapering longitudinally, the reduced end of which merges with the rounded neck d formed with the head cl. As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the bolts D are of" such length relatively to the rail-web and the members A and B, and the parts d and (1 thereof are so arranged that the merging points of the shank d of the central portion d is such that it will lie within the-groove Z of the member A and the point where the rounded end (Z and the part d merge will lie within the groove 6 in the plate B when the several parts are assembled, such I 0 relative construction and arrangement of the bolts D, the relation to the members A and B being provided to avoid such undue crowding or wedging of the several parts referred to that would interfere with the free and maximum endwise adjustment of the Wedge or following plate in assembling the parts to their desired interlocking position.

By reason of the peculiar construction of the pins D their cooperative connection with the plates B and A and the slip taper or Wedge portions in the outer face of the plate A, the said parts can be readily brought into a tight clam ping condition by moving the plate A in the direction of its length, whereby to draw the same wedged tightly against the pin-heads that bear on the slip taper portions, and as the web a of the member A has the usual spike-notches a it follows that after wedging the plate A to the desired degree the parts forming the complete joint will be firmly held from endwise play by driving the spikes inthe usual manner.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is believed the complete construction, the manner in which my invention is manipulated, and its advantages will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it pertains.

I am aware that rail-joints including opposing clamping-plates adapted to be connected by 'clampingbolts and having means'for interlocking the plates and the bolts have heretofore been provided.

My invention, so far as I know, differentiates from what has heretofore been provided in this art in the peculiar construction of the follower-plate A, especially its slip portions and keyhole-slots designed to coact witha peculiar construction of key-pin that engages the said slots, and the slip taper or wedge portions of the clamping-plate B.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A rail-joint comprising in combination with the rails, a pair of opposing clamping-plates A and B each of which has a continuous groove on the inner face which extendslength- Wise thereof and which has bolt or key apertures arranged to register with the bolt-apertures in the rails, one of the said clampingplates having its keyhole-apertures formed with elongated slots and countersunk portions on the outer face surrounding the said slotted 'keyholes which portions are tapered at the end adjacent the circular portion of the keyhole-slots whereby to form wedge-surfaces, key pins or bolts each comprising a lockinghead all and a flattened shank d for cooperating with the said keyholeslots and wedge portions, a central longitudinally-tapered and crosswise-elongated portion 42 for engaging with the apertures in the rail, and a rounded neck 6Z3 having head d for cooperating with the clamping-plate B, the central portion d of the bolts being of such length that the opposite ends thereof will extend into the continuous grooves on the inner face of the plates A and B, substantially in the manner shown and described.

MARTIN WARNER. Witnesses:

M. J. CUNNINGHAM, ANTHONY HALEY. 

